October 23, 2008

How about a recount

Since you know how much I love those all-time sports rankings that appear on SI.com and ESPN.com on what seems to be a daily basis, you shouldn't be surprised that I'm going to draw your attention to one that showed up yesterday on SI's blog site, FanNation.

It's just a short list of the "Five biggest traitors in sports," and it was inspired by the controversy that erupted when Brett Favre was suspected of leaking inside information to the Detroit Lions before their Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.

The list includes a certain football owner who jumped town with his NFL franchise on a snowy night in 1984, and that would not garner any complaint from anyone in Baltimore except for the fact that Robert Irsay (in a familiar 1984 pose at left) only ranks third on the list, behind opportunistic football coaches Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino.

Frankly, I don't see how anyone could make such a mistake of scale. Nick Saban might have been a little sleazy when he left the Dolphins to coach Alabama, but for him to equal the audacity of Irsay, the Dolphins would have to be based in Tuscaloosa now. Same goes for Petrino, who left the Falcons for Arkansas, but was nice enough to leave the Falcons franchise in Atlanta where it belonged.

Comments

And right below Irsay needs to be Modell. They should be 1 and 1a. I caught a snippet of the history of the Cleveland Browns the other day on the NFL network, what a tragedy that team was moved in the name of money, my conscience would never allow me to root or even recognize their Baltimore incarnation.

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Pete's reply: The only difference was, Modell was broke and might have lost the team if he didn't move it. What would you have done in that situation?

You got my vote Peter. I still remember those days leading up to Irsay's bailout. Attending Colts games wearing my "Dolts" brown paper bag. The drunken press conference at BWI (Was it still Freindship Airport then?). The pointing out of specific reporters and the profanity laced statements of "Get that guy out of here, I don't wanna talk to the *bleep* *bleep*" The subsequent Robert Irsay life sized doll on a certain TV station. And of course this was the guy who gave us the famous Stupor Bowl win over the then hapless Pats to give away that years first round pick. Oh. Lest we forget, trading John Elway to the Denver Broncos for Chris Hinton. All this, then after repeatedly saying he'd stay in Baltimore, he loads up the Mayflowers and rolls on on a snowy night, taking all the historical Colts artifacts with him.

Regarding McAlister it is time to see him go after this season. At times he steps his game up but other times he seems to fall asleep. The reality is his time is nearing an end, 31, isn't young for a CB and the injuries are accumulating.
Sports are a harsh business and you can't get too attached to players. They get paid all too well and can suffer the consequences.
Suggs is another guy who needs to shut up. What has T. Smith ever done in the NFL? Nothing and probably a bit less than Flacco has done. And to talk about bounties is only going to lead to fines, suspensions or referees with a quick trigger, the last thing the Ravens need more of.
Rich

Honestly Pete.....who cares about the 'Brett Favre conspiracy'. The news media has got a horrible obsession with anything involving Brett. The NFL said that he can say whatever to the Lions. Ok. So if he even gave them the playbook, it would be fine. If the Packers want to complain, maybe they should have kept Favre. Then again....didn't the Lions get beat in the game anyway? So how is his story able to be compared to these other scumbags? The media needs to let the Brett stories die. Just like his career will in NY.

Two of the top three, and four of the top five incidents happened in the past five years? Irsay's a lock, of course, but in terms of effect on the fanbase they left behind, there are many others that make the list.

How about the owners of the Brooklyn Team that left to go to LaLa Land? Philadelphia A's (and then Kansas City A's, a 2-fer!)? Minnesota North Stars? Houston Oilers?

I hesitate to add the Washington Senators, because their fanbase upon leaving was Montreal-Expos-like at the end. And the present Washington team WAS the Montreal Expos.

I'm not really even that much of a sports fan, and I KNOW that those ownership groups deserve at least as much "cred" as membership on that list deserves.

I hate Irsay as much as anyone (try having your family move in December of 1984, and the employer chooses Mayflower... that was a fun day).

But let's not forget that the General Assembly was on the verge of using eminent domain to seize the team (in a questionably illegal move), foreshadowing two and a half decades of rampant incompetence from the Princes down in Soddom on the Severn.

It was ultimately THAT act that led to the midnight skedaddle and bugout like a M*A*S*H unit.

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About Peter Schmuck

Peter Schmuck wants you to know that, contrary to popular belief, he is more than just a bon vivant, raconteur and collector of blousy flowered shirts. He is a semi-respected journalist who has covered virtually every sport -- except luge, of course – and tackled issues that transcend the mere games people play. If that isn’t enough to qualify him to provide witty, wide-ranging commentary on the sports world ... and the rest of the world, for that matter ... he is an avid reader of history, biography and the classics, as well as a charming blowhard who pops off on both sports and politics on WBAL Radio. That means you can expect a little of everything in The Schmuck Stops Here, but the major focus will be keeping you up to the minute on Baltimore’s major sports teams and themes, whether it’s throwing up the Orioles lineup the minute it’s announced or updating you on the latest sprained ankle in Owings Mills. Oh, and by the way, that’s Mr. Schmuck to you.